Stolen Away
by wintergreen825
Summary: So many things were taken that fateful night. Sirius wasn't surprised when he lost the thing most precious to all of them.


**Legal Disclaimer:** I own my stuff, but not the original source material. That belongs to whoever. Also, the opinions and interpretations I use here may not reflect the same in said whoever that owns the source material. Look, I'm just a poor college librarian. Suing me isn't going to get you anything but tears.

**Warning:** This work may be offensive to some readers. Feel free to back out if that's you.

**Author's Note:** What do you get when someone exceeds their legal authority to usurp the rightful guardianship of a child? That's right. You get a kidnapping. What happens when that person is Albus Dumbledore? That's right. People choose to ignore their common sense. And I would love to say that this coda changes that. Alas, it remains a coda and thus remains true to canon. (The actual canon, not the _unpleasantness_ that makes up the movies.)

**Submitting Info:**  
**Stacked with:** Hogwarts (Term 10); MC4A  
**Individual Challenges:** placeholder  
**House:** Hufflepuff  
**Assignment No.:** Term 10 – Assignment 12  
**Subject (Task No.):** Criminology (Task #5: Write about a kidnapping.)  
**Other Hogwarts Challenges:** Insane Prompt Challenge [1000] (It was a mess.); 365 Words [15] (Addicted); Scavenger Hunt [62] (Write an Autumn themed fic); Constellation Club [The Sail] (Hurt/Comfort [Genre]); Gym [Quotation] (FDR); Summer Colors (Sky Blue); Summer Mix It Up 1 (Sirius Black & Broken-hearted); Star-Chart Challenge (Sirius Black);  
**Representation(s):** placeholder  
**Bonus Challenges: **placeholder  
**Tertiary Bonus Challenges:** placeholder  
**Word Count:** 2348

(^^)  
**Stolen Away**  
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It was a mess.

It was just a complete mess.

It was everything that Sirius had hoped to avoid by switching places with Peter. He had arrived too late to be of any help. The front room had barely been disturbed, with the only things out of place being the broken bits of Lily's favorite vase and James' body at the foot of the stairs. Seeing James like that—so empty and still—had ripped out something in Sirius. He fell to his knees, dizzy from grief and already sick with the sorrow creeping through his veins like a thief.

"Mama! Mah-_ma_! Mama!"

Sirius found himself rushing up the stairs before he had fully processed what he had heard, what it had to mean. The nursery door had been blown off its hinges. The splintered remains of the lintel left gouges into his palms as he caught himself on it. His breath caught at the sight of Lily, crumpled before the crib with her hair spilling out around her like blood, and the nearby pile of smoldering robes. He was torn between laughing at the idea that _of course_ Lily had managed to take the Dark Lord down with her and weeping for the loss of the vivacious Muggle-born.

"Pads!" Harry cried, dragging Sirius' attention to him. The toddler had one hand braced on the crib railing as he bounced impatiently. The other hand was stretched out towards him, working open and closed in clear demand. "Pads!"

"I'm here, puppy," Sirius said as he crossed the room. Moving around Lily's body was somehow even more painful than doing so to James', but Sirius didn't hesitate, not even long enough to give the robes a kick. His godson needed him. The boy fisted his tiny hands in the front of Sirius' robes as he pulled him from the crib. Sirius ran one hand over Harry's bleeding forehead, ignoring the stinging in his palm at the action. "I've got you. I'm here now, and I've got ya."

"Pads," Harry cried, weeping now rather than demanding. He butted his head against Sirius' neck, a gesture that closely resembled the canine version of a hug and could only have been picked up from Sirius himself. Absently, Sirius snagged the sky blue blanket (Lily had carefully dyed it with woad for a bit of magical protection) from the crib, wrapping it around the crying toddler. "Pads, Mama _no_ up. Make Mama, Pads. _Peas_."

"Oh, puppy," Sirius said, choking on the tears that were finally starting to spill down his cheeks. His own grief seemed pale compared to the upset confusion in the fifteen-month-old's voice. "Puppy, Mama can't answer."

"Pads, _peas_," Harry sniffled.

He tugged weakly on Sirius' robes. Each motion shattered the remains of Sirius' heart. The repeated cries of '_peas'_ followed them as Sirius carried his godson from the place that should have been a sanctuary. Peter's betrayal was a rotten sore at the back of Sirius' mind that each sniffle and tear prodded, but it would have to wait. With Remus out amongst the werewolf packs, Sirius was all that Harry had left. He had to stay with Harry, had to stay in the moment and ignore the temptation to let the simmering rage boil away his grief.

Harry needed him.

His heart froze in his chest when he saw Hagrid standing outside the house. It had nothing to do with the nighttime damp settling around the hollow and everything to do with the last conversation he had had with Lily. She had pointed out how the amount of intel that the Order collected never matched the amount of missions they were sent out to complete, but Dumbledore still seemed to always have his personal interests achieved. Hagrid never did missions for the Order, was never sent into any kind of confrontation like the rest of them were. He only ever acted as Dumbledore's personal courier.

Sirius could not think of anything that Dumbledore would need delivered here, especially since Hagrid didn't look surprised to see the damage done to the cottage. He did look just as undone by it as Sirius and Harry are, however. Harry had settled into hiccupping snuffles into Sirius' shoulder, barely audible over Hagrid's great wails into a suspiciously off-white handkerchief.

For all that it was only late evening, Sirius was exhausted more than he ever got staying up all night chasing rabbits with Moony only to attend classes the next day.

"Hagrid," Sirius asked, "what are you doing here?"

"Dumbledore sent me," Hagrid managed after a bit. His gravely voice was even rougher with the thickness from his tears. "I'm supposed to brin' Harry to him."

"How did he even know something had happened?"

"He's a great man, Dumbledore is," Hagrid said like it was the only answer that mattered. Sirius supposed to Hagrid, that was true. It still wasn't enough that Sirius was willing to just hand over his godson, not when caring for the little boy felt like the only thing that was holding him together. Going to Dumbledore wasn't a bad idea, though. Maybe he would have an idea of what to do now.

"Let's go, then," Sirius said, struggling to keep his voice from cracking. "Where are we meeting the headmaster?"

"I don' think yer not allowed to come."

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked warily. Probably sensing the rising tension, Harry tightened his grip on Sirius. Running a hand over Harry's fluffy curls, Sirius pressed a kiss beside the still-bleeding scratch on his forehead. The coppery scent of blood teased the hereditary madness chewing on the edges of Sirius' self-control. No one would separate him from his pup.

Harry needed him.

"Dumbledore said to brin' little Harry," Hagrid explained, "an' tha' no one was to know where we was goin'. Tha' would include yeh."

"He's my godson!" Sirius exclaimed, not caring about keeping his voice calm. "Dumbledore can hang himself with his beard if he thinks Harry is going anywhere without me! His parents wanted me to raise him, not some lemon-addicted crackpot!"

"Don' yeh dare insult Albus Dumbledore to my face!" Hagrid roared. Any sign of tears was gone as the half-giant became enraged. Sirius clutched at Harry as he took a step away from Hagrid, suddenly recalling every instance that the other man (usually so affable and kind) had lost his temper and with it any sense of just how vulnerable others were compared to him. "If this is what he wants, then he has a very good reason fer it, an' it's not fer us to question him!"

"Just calm down, Hagrid," Sirius said, hoping to placate him. He had honestly never truly realized just how much larger than him Hagrid was. Harry whimpered, reminding Sirius that there was more at stake than having his bones broken.

He had to think, to plan. It was really no different that plotting out a prank or a mission that was going belly-up. If Sirius pulled his wand to cast anything, there was no doubt in his mind that Hagrid would attack. If that happened, there was a fair chance of Harry accidentally being hurt in the scuffle. He couldn't allow that, not when he had already let James and Lily down by insisting that the _rat_ be their Secret Keeper. His gaze darted around the space around them, empty except for his motorbike.

His motorbike had been spelled with every useful charm and jinx that the Marauders plus Lily had been able to think of, including some of the strongest tracking charms in existence. He wouldn't need to cast anything before they left. He would be able to follow them at any time. He might even have enough time to find Peter and turn him over to the authorities like the treacherous scum he had turned out to be. It would only take a matter of hours at the most, and Sirius would even be able to get the backing of his Auror unit in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. That should enough to ensure both Harry's safety and his return.

"Don' yeh tell me to calm down!" Hagrid's face darkened with his fury. The difference was barely visible under the cover of darkness as the lane had only a few scattered lamp posts. "Dumbledore is a great man, an' yer actin' like he can' be trusted. It's not right!"

"Harry's my godson," Sirius tried again, still hoping that he wouldn't have to resort to his still-forming backup plan. The idea of being separated the newly orphaned boy made Sirius want to throw up. Every instinct in him screamed about the myriad of ways things could go horribly wrong once Harry was out of his sight. "He's not Dumbledore's ward to protect. He's mine! _James and Lily wanted me to take care of him_!"

"Dumbledore knows what's he's doin'! He wants Harry brought to him an' tha''s what he's goin' to get!"

The half-giant stomped closer. Sirius took a startled step backwards, one hand coming up to support Harry's neck just as Lily had trained all of the Marauders to do. Hagrid stopped, clearly surprised by the reaction his approach had caused. He put his fists on his hips.

"Why are you acting scared? I ain't going to hurt you!"

"So I'm free to go then?"

"O' course! I'm not goin' to keep yeh prisoner!" Hagrid sounded shocked that Sirius had even implied that he would do such a thing. Hope flared bright and wonderful inside Sirius. Maybe he wouldn't need the backup plan after all. Then Hagrid held out his arms in expectation of something. "Just hand me little Harry an' yer free to go wherever yeh want."

"We've been over this, Hagrid," Sirius said carefully. "Harry is my godson."

"I know tha'," Hagrid agreed readily, "but Dumbledore said to brin' him Harry an' to not let anyone know where we was goin'. Now don' be sad! I'm sure if yeh owl him later, he'll let yeh visit. Yeh're Harry's godfather, after all!"

"Hagrid—"

"I know tha' yer a bit worried, but this is Dumbledore! Ain' nowhere safer than with him. Harry will be as safe as a dragon's egg in its mother's nest." The half-giant gestured impatiently for Sirius to hand over his godson. He clearly was done talking about this and was prepared to move onto using the same kind of force that allowed him to wrestle dangerous creatures without even realizing that they could rip apart those without giant blood in their heritage. "Now it's gettin' really late. I'm sure yer jus' knackered after all tha''s happened. Hand over Harry now, an' then we can all go get some shut eye."

"How are you planning on leaving?" Sirius asked, calling upon every single hated etiquette lesson from his mother as he scrambled to make sure that he would be able to track his godson. There was no way that he could prevent Harry from being taken now, not without risking Harry getting hurt. He just had to make sure that he could find him later, once he had backup. "I think Lily said that Portkeys weren't toddler-friendly."

"Er, I was plannin' on Apparatin'." Hagrid sounded sheepish at the confession. Sirius shuddered at the thought of someone who hadn't even completed his third year before having his wand snapped trying to Side-Along Apparate Harry. The toddler had a way of making the already difficult task even harder for everyone except for Lily. Something of Sirius' misgivings must have shown on his face because Hagrid rushed on to explain. "Dumbledore gave me permission."

_Like the legality of it was the problem._

"I have an idea," Sirius said as if it had just occurred to him. Most people who knew him would have been suspicious, but thankfully, Hagrid had never been someone who looked for hidden meanings or potential plots. "Why don't you take my bike? It has a lot of safety features built into it, and it even flies. How often do you get a chance to do something like that, Hagrid?"

"Tha' 's a good idea, yeah," Hagrid immediately agreed. "Are yeh sure it can handle someone o' my size?"

"Oh, absolutely," Sirius reassured. "It can carry a pregnant dragon with no trouble, so it can definitely carry you!"

"A pregnant dragon, yeh say?"

Hagrid rubbed his beard in contemplation while Sirius kicked himself for letting that reference slip. His heart ached a little at the memory of a heavily pregnant Lily stuck in her Animagus form needing a ride to a safe place because she hadn't mastered flying on her own yet. He squeezed Harry a little closer, both to soothe the welling grief and in preparation for what was inevitably the next step.

All too soon, Hagrid was holding out his arms for Harry again. This time, Sirius pressed a kiss to the toddler's head before shifting him to safely hand him over. Harry fisted his tiny hands in Sirius' shirt as he wailed in protest.

"No, Pads! No!" Harry screamed as Sirius struggled to break his godson's hold as gently as possible. Even after he managed that, Harry clawed at his hands, obviously desperate to stay in Sirius' arms. "_Peas!_ Pads! Peas!"

"I'm sorry, puppy," Sirius choked out as Hagrid took the squirming boy from him. The blanket flapped in the wind that was suddenly kicking up around them. Heartsick, Sirius could not muster the words to calm what was obviously a growing bout of accidental magic. Hagrid was as oblivious to the potential danger as always, tutting at Harry's furious cries like he would something trying to bite his nose off or set his beard on fire.

The shimmering rage flared as Sirius watched Hagrid fly off with his godson, no longer banked by the need to care for Harry and now fueled by having to let the boy be taken from his custody. The Black Madness demanded a blood offering, and Sirius had the perfect sacrifices in mind.

After all, what went better with scorched rat than caramelized lemon?


End file.
